Indivisibles,

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed late last week, spooking markets worldwide. The collapse was quickly followed by New York regulators shuttering Signature Bank, adding to fears of a broader banking crisis.

Stock markets are fluctuating. Investors are skittish. A number of tech employers are scrambling to make payroll as their employees are wondering whether they are going to get paid. 

The collapses we’re seeing are happening because the Trump administration loosened Obama-era Dodd-Frank regulations on “regional and community” banks. The problem is some of these banks are still very large, and when their risky bets go sideways, there are significant consequences on our economy. But the bank lobby got through to Congress, Congress loosened regulations, and now banks are asking us to fix their mess…again.

Fine! As always, the American people would be the most impacted by any banking crisis. But these banks can’t lobby to reduce regulations that keep the people safe and then come asking for government help when those loosened regulations drive a collapse. Fortunately there are some complicated tools already in place at the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve to stop this crisis from spreading. 

But Kevin McCarthy and his crew of MAGA extremists are hard at work creating an even bigger financial crisis by threatening to force the US to default on our debts, sending us into unpredictable economic chaos. The MAGA Default Crisis doesn’t have any quick fixes, and in fact the GOP wants it that way. The threat of financial harm on everyday people is exactly what they’re hoping to use to extract political concessions. Which is why we need to prevent it from happening in the first place. 

MAGA Republicans are content to hold the global economy hostage in order to cut services vital to the American people like Social Security and Medicare. In order to force those cuts, MAGA extremists have signaled that they are willing to allow America to default on its debt for the first time in our country’s history. This would have disastrous effects on the lives of all Americans as well as the global economy. 

It’s important to note: There is no reason for the US to default on our loans besides MAGA gamesmanship. Raising the debt ceiling is a basic, simple step successfully and regularly taken by nearly every peer economy in the world. But Republicans are willing to tank the global economy for nothing but their own greed and disregard for the American people.

The work we do today ensures that we don’t have to face an international crisis this summer. Let’s stop MAGA from throwing the country, and the world, into chaos.

With that, here are your weekly to-dos:

 Your 5 weekly to-dos 

1. If you have a Republican representative, call and tell them you oppose the MAGA default scheme. Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee have advanced a scheme to “prevent a default” that would essentially give congressional MAGA extremists the power to decide which bills get paid (and potentially put critical payments to hospitals, schools, and social safety net programs at the back of the line). Call your Republican representative and tell them you oppose the “debt prioritization” scheme. 
2. If you have a Democratic representative, call and tell them to add their name to the Boyle, Jayapal, Kuster letter opposing any cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Republicans are threatening to hold the world economy hostage. Democrats need to stand strong and join President Biden in saying we’re not negotiating with hostage-takers. Every Democratic member who signs onto this letter makes it clearer to Republicans that Dems won’t cave, and clearer to all Americans that the Democratic Party can be counted on to protect Medicare and Social Security. When you’re through, check out our full page on the MAGA Default Crisis. 
3. If you have a Democratic representative, write a letter to the editor (LTE) to encourage your MoC not to negotiate with MAGA hostage-takers. As the Republican Party continues its descent into the clutches of MAGA extremists, Democrats must stand strong -- and that includes their constituents. Write an LTE to show your MoC (and your community) that you will not sit idly by as Republicans hold critical American programs hostage. Millions of Americans count on these life-saving programs -- including folks in our communities and districts -- and we need to raise as much public attention on this threat as we can. We’ll win this fight together! 
4. If you have a Democratic senator, call and tell them to ditch the “blue slip” and confirm as many judges as possible. Federal judges have an outsized impact on the execution of national policy. One conservative judge in the right position can completely block progress, or delay it enough to make it essentially useless. Biden has been nominating judges at a historic pace, but Senate Democrats are still handing significant power to Republicans to block confirmations through an archaic Senate rule called the “blue slip.” Unsurprisingly, Republicans did not follow this rule when they controlled the Senate under Trump. Some Democrats have recently signaled they’re open to eliminating this rule, something they have the power to do immediately. Tell your Democratic senator to support ditching the “blue slip” today!
5. Do you live in a rural area? Click here to join our National Rural Program. We have resources and calls specifically for our rural Indivisibles where you can learn more about strategies and issues specific to Indivisibles living in rural areas. If you want an idea of what that looks like, check out our agenda and notes from previous meetings. 

P.S. We rely on your support to keep call pages up and running, fund ads to get the word out, and continue all the work we’re doing this year. If you’re able, click here to donate to help fund our work.

Rep. Summer Lee, PA-12

Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania with an incredible speech defending the millions of Americans who should be receiving relief from Biden’s student debt cancellation last summer. As the MAGA majority in the Supreme Court stand poised to negate any relief, Rep. Lee reminds us that these problems are systemic and targeted at the most vulnerable by bodies of people who are fully insulated from the impacts of their rulings. Watch Summer Lee’s blistering speech here.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, NY-16

Rep. Jamaal Bowman of NY doing the necessary work of defending trans lives before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. As we watch MAGA Republicans continue to pass harmful legislation across the country targeted at achieving the goal that, as the Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles said at CPAC, “transgenderism must be eradicated from public life,” Rep. Bowman asks the simple and poignant question, “why can't we leave trans people alone?”

 IndivisiWin of the Week 

We’re going to take a moment this week to shout out our very own Ezra Levin for an incredible appearance on the Rachel Maddow Show last Monday. Rachel gave a great primer on Indivisible’s beginnings and Ezra knocked it out of the park teeing up our new Unrepresentatives campaign highlighting the 18 House Republicans who currently serve in Biden-won districts from 2020. Watch the interview, check out the campaign, and let’s hold these Unrepresentatives accountable.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up on the latest information, and text “INDIVISIBLE” to 59798 to opt-in to our text messaging program where we send rapid response actions a few times a month.

The threat of a default grows closer every day and MAGA Republicans are abdicating their basic duty to protect the American people by weaponizing that potential crisis for their own selfish gains. Make your calls today to keep us safe before a catastrophic economic crisis becomes inevitable.

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team